Panther was the most excellent German medium tank during WWII. When it was deployed, Germany was greatly weakened. Thanks to its unparalleled performance, it became one of the backbones the Germans could rely on. It was even used by the opponents to the end of the war. Its 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 long tank gun could penetrate almost all the armor of its rivals. Its inclined armor provided better protection than the Tiger I. The Maybach HL230 engine could drive the vehicle to run at the high speed of 50km/h. Its wide tracks and interleaved road wheels could turn the uneven earth to a flat ground. The Panther was a perfect response to the requirements of German armor units. Now the Panther has become one of favorite armor kits modellers want.

Ten years later, another Panther Ausf. A plastic model kit is coming. The TS-035 German Medium Tank Sd.Kfz. 171 Panther Ausf. A Late is another kit of famous WWII armor MENG release with the help of The Tank Museum in Bovington, UK and the editor Mr. David Parker of the Meng AFV Modeller magazine. The assembled model is 251.8mm long, 98.6mm wide and 85.27mm high. A total of 1,118 parts are included in the kit. MENG’s team has designed this kit with the experience gained from the previous kits and insisted to bring more fun to different modellers. We believe you will enjoy it!

Ernst Barkmann (later Ernst Schmuck-Barkmann) (25 August 1919 – 27 June 2009) was a German tank commander in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. He is known for the actions undertaken at “Barkmann’s corner,” in which it was claimed he halted a major U.S. Army armoured advance in Normandy on 27 July 1944, for which action he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.[1]

In February 1944, Das Reich was ordered to France to form a part of the 5th Panzer Army, the armoured reserve for the expected Allied invasion. Following Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of June 1944, the division reached the front in early July and fought against the American forces near Saint-Lô. Barkmann was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.[1] Barkmann participated in the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944 and the fighting on the Eastern Front in the spring of 1945.

Barkmann's reputed actions in Normandy were challenged by the military historian Steven Zaloga in his 2015 work Armored Champion: The Top Tanks of World War II. He analysed the Allied war records, and was unable to locate the losses claimed by Barkmann. He attributed the narrative of Barkmann's corner to the "propaganda efforts of the Waffen-SS".[3]